Keene State’s Men’s Basketball began its Little East Conference (LEC) championship run with a 101-81 home victory, blowing the doors off the Anchormen of Rhode Island College (RIC) on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The playoff match was a rare rematch; the Owls played the Anchormen for their senior day game only four days prior, and won that contest 90-69. With a conference record of 11-5, 15-10 overall, KSC entered the game as the three seed in the conference. With a conference record of 7-9, RIC slipped into the six seed and barely escaped elimination.
Before the game, Athletic Director Marty Testo said he was excited for the game. “I was excited for the women’s game. They got their job done, and now hopefully the men will do the same,” Testo said. “It’s exciting. It’s playoff time and it’s what these kids work hard for all year. [I am] very confident in our team and in our coaches and I’m ready to see what the next 40 minutes brings.”
The match began slowly, with RIC building a small lead that proved difficult for the Owls to dislodge. Junior guard Jordan Cooper drew first blood with a three-pointer, but the Anchormen captured the lead with a pair of free throws and two three-pointers. RIC steadily held the lead, going as high as eight points up before the Owls began to claw back. The first half ended with a narrow Keene State lead of 47-44 after a three-pointer from senior guard Mitch Shettles.
Keene State exploded in scoring in the second half, outscoring the Anchormen 54-37. After briefly surrendering the lead, a dunk by Cooper began a scoring streak that led the Owls to their twenty-point win. The dunk was featured on ESPN SportsCenter the following day, garnering the Owls national attention. On the other side, the Anchormen’s shooting fizzled off, shooting only 43% from the field in the second half.
The dunk contributed to Cooper’s career-high 38-point, seven-rebound game, going 14-23 and shooting 62.5% from three. First-year guard Allyn Wright shone in his own right, putting up 20 points and shooting 7-15. The triple-digit score is the highest by a Keene State team since a 116-point decimation of UMass-Boston last season, Feb. 8, 2025.
Spectator Paul Miller said the Owls have an interesting group of players to watch. “Keene State games, if nothing else, are always entertaining. This is an interesting team; they’ve got some exciting, explosive players. They can lose on any night, they can win on any night, but they’ve really been firing on all cylinders [recently].”
Longtime fan Matthew Castor said he enjoyed the contest and felt optimistic going forward in the conference playoffs. “Rhode Island stayed in there for a while, but Keene State pulled away,” Castor said. “I think if they come ready to play [in the next few games], I think they have a chance. They have a very talented team.”
Keene State went on to face UMass-Boston in the semifinals on Friday, Feb. 27, coming out on top in a 75-72 nailbiter. Cooper followed up his 38-piece with a 26-point game to lead the Owls in scoring once again. Sophomore center Kareem Porter Jr. had a career game of his own, grabbing 16 boards and scoring 13 points for career highs in both categories.
Despite the two performances, the Owls flew into a brick wall against Western Connecticut State (WestConn), losing 84-68 to the one seed in the conference. Despite another fiery performance by Cooper, who scored 33 points, the Owls fell behind 15-4 early and WestConn did not surrender the lead once. Keene State shot only 35% from the field, and only two Owls, Cooper and senior guard Ryan Blakely, scored double digits.
The playoff run was the Owls’ fifth straight, having won the conference the past four seasons.
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